Hot Chocolate: Svetlana Lustina Celebrates the Club's First Birthday

Everyone has a dream. Svetlana Lustina certainly did when she came up with Chocolate, Beijing’s most out-there nightclub. Svetlana spoke to us as she gets ready to light the candle on Chocolate's first birthday cake.

the Beijinger: Where did the name “Chocolate” come from?
Svetlana Lustina: Chocolate is not only a delicious health-giving food, but also a symbol of wealth, high class and happiness for Russian people. Imagine a person sitting at the table in Chocolate. Suddenly he has a phone call from a friend who asks, “Where are you?” The answer is obvious: “I am in Chocolate,” which on one hand means the location and name of the place, but on the other hand there is an inner meaning – believe it or not, but the more you say “I am in Chocolate,” the happier and wealthier you will become.

Thoughts and words do materialize – it has not only been proven scientifically but also by people who usually come to Chocolate and become our regulars. They admit that since they started doing it, their life changed for the better and they’ve achieved something they couldn’t before. So come here more often and let your dreams come true.

tbj: Is there a philosophy behind the whole show/fantasy world that the bar offers?
SL: First of all, my fantasies about the bar were based on the fact that I was in an interesting state. I could say that I was carrying my child as well as cherishing an idea about the club at the same time, so I had two kids.

Behind every moment and every part of my life, there is an endless fantasy world. I was born in a tiny village you could hardly see on a map, but that was what made that place so unique and special. The name of the place is Bogorodskoe, which in Russian means “born of God.” Imagine the crystal clear water of a powerful river surrounded by virgin nature. I remember my dad used to go fishing and bring home huge sturgeons. They were so big that they couldn’t be placed even in the biggest room of our house. Once he tried to put one in the kitchen, but the head of the sturgeon was sticking out of the window and we couldn't close the kitchen door because of the size of its tail. We used to eat black caviar as much as we wanted, not because my family could easily afford it but because everything we needed was there. How can you not start fantasizing when you live in such a fairytale? Those moments gave me memories for a lifetime and inspired my creativity.

I was ambitious since I was a kid, trying to prove to all my friends that I was going to be rich, successful and famous. This is more proof that dreams can come true. Probably in my past life I lived in a palace; in this life I created this palace by myself. Whatever it is in your life that you might wish to achieve, it all begins as a fantasy, a dream – something imagined so vividly that it keeps you spellbound. That fantasy evokes passionate emotions which fire you up and urge you on to traverse the challenging pathway to success.

tbj: In your fantasy world, what other elements would you add to the bar? Dancing bears? White tigers?
SL: Haha … well, dancing bears and white tigers wouldn't surprise our guests that much, but what we can do is to turn an elephant into a beautiful swan. Frankly speaking, I would [rather] leave it as a mystery and find ways to surprise our guests more and more.

tbj: What do you think made Chocolate stick out as the “Best New Bar” in our 2009 Reader Bar & Club Awards?
SL: I guess it's for the same reason that will make the club stick out as the “Best New Bar” in 2010, 2011, 2012, etc.

To tell the truth, I guess the first thing is creative thinking, because creativity greatly helps us solve problems and achieve what we want in all fields. The more creatively we think, the more successful we are.

The second thing is that Russian people are workaholics. They completely devote themselves to their work, and this desire for perfection leads to success. Actually, in every corner of the club you can find pieces of my soul. I want to thank our guests who like our club and appreciate all our efforts.

tbj: Chocolate also received mention in the tbj awards for having “Outstanding Décor.” What is your favorite piece of décor in the bar?
SL: My favorite piece of décor is the huge fireplace in my office. Many of my friends have had a chance to warm up near this beautiful heart of the room.

tbj: And which piece of décor was the most difficult to acquire?
SL: We had different design decisions and of course faced a lot of difficulties, changing and redoing the décor. I think the most difficult pieces were the aquarium under the restaurant floor, the dancing fountain and huge marble bar downstairs.

tbj: Did you expect the bar to be the success that it has been? Did you discover that you had to adapt the concept after the place opened?
SL: We do our best to make it the most successful, to improve it and make our new ideas come true. It’s the creative research which takes hours of discussion and arguing and requires the ability of learning from mistakes. The main concept was to be different from others: The first Russian club in the capital of China where European and Asian traditions go together, co-exist and mix.

tbj: So what is one thing Chocolate has that no other place in Beijing shares?
SL: If a person wants to have a nice meal, he goes to a restaurant. If he wants to dance and have fun, he chooses a nightclub. Some people want to see a performance, so the option is a theater. Have you seen a place in Beijing where you can do those things at the same time? One of our achievements is that we were able to combine everything. Every person can find something special in Chocolate. We have a special restaurant and show for kids, our guests can try different cuisines, and when you are full, drunk and happy you can relax, forget about everything and enjoy the view.

tbj: Where are the dancers from and how hard was it to find them?
SL: Nowadays I work with dancers from Ukraine and Russia. Actually, it is very hard to find good dancers and it’s almost impossible to find professionals. But I was lucky. My friends introduced to me to a person who works as a choreographer, dancer, singer, designer and director of the show – that's why our guests can enjoy amazing show programs every night. We call him "One-Man Band" because it’s very difficult to be talented in different fields. To tell the truth, it’s very easy to deal with him because we want to achieve the same things, and our fantasies are endless. We wanted to make an experiment, and we invited different dancers who don't know each other and never worked together. We want to see how long it takes to make people cooperate. You can see the result by yourself.

tbj: What can people expect from Chocolate in the future?
SL: On December 28 we turn one year old. Chocolate opened not that long ago, but in spite of this fact we've already captured everyone’s heart (not only people in China but abroad as well). It is not a secret that people expect a lot from the club in the future. We will not tell you all our plans, but one of them is that we are going to expand and work on our project in the same direction with new ideas.

tbj: What is your favorite kind of chocolate?
SL: To tell the truth, not long ago I started having a sweet tooth and I like all kinds of chocolate, but my favorite is hot chocolate. When you sit and drink hot chocolate, a lot of ideas come to mind and you can focus while thinking about something. But it is not the only reason. If you are a creative person you can figure out that this kind of chocolate can be used not only as a delicious drink, but also in other ways.

tbj: Who would be your ideal guest?
SL: My mother. She is definitely my ideal guest. I wish she could come to the club more often to rest and feel proud of her daughter. Unfortunately, she is very busy every day and can’t make it often.

tbj: One person you’d never allow through the doors?
SL: It's a person with inappropriate behavior who spoils the whole atmosphere and tries to prevent people from having a good time. I don't let people like that come to Chocolate because I want all my guests to have fun and feel at ease in my club.

tbj: The bathrooms are spectacular – why put so much effort into their design?
SL: The average person spends up to an hour in the bathroom each day (not including good reading material), so we want people to feel comfortable there. We didn’t want out bathrooms to shout: Fix us and make us beautiful! So the bathrooms were one of the most important places when we were thinking about the club design. I want every corner of my club to be perfect.

tbj: Is Chocolate a typical Russian club? Can we find places like this in Moscow?
SL: Yes, Chocolate is a typical Russian club, but here we’ve combined the whole world. There are a lot of fine nightclubs in Moscow, but the thing is that we have our own style, which makes us different from any nightclub.

tbj: There’s a branch of Bank of Beijing in Chocolate. Why?
SL: It’s just more proof that even banks want to be in Chocolate.

Celebrate Chocolate's birthday with Svetlana on Dec 28. RMB 150. 9pm (open bar until midnight).